Many Vermont communities canceled school Friday, and in Burlington, students made the most of their snow day by spending it sledding at Burlington Country Club. While they had fun, problems were mounting around the state.

Many of the troubles involved difficult driving conditions. In Winooski, a big freight truck got stuck on a hill at the bottom of Tigan Street. After failing several times to make it up the slick rise, he got some help from a stranger. Tim Allard of Ground Effects Property Maintenance in Essex Jct. laid down some salt, helping the rig get moving again. "If I don't get out and help him, who's going to?" Allard told New England Cable News. "Then it just creates more of a hazard for other motorists on the road. [I was] just doing ‘the Vermont thing.’"

Several crashes forced temporary closures of Interstate 89 and left police urging drivers to take it slow, leave plenty of room between vehicles, or just stay home if possible. Vt. State Police Sgt. Garry Scott told NECN that as of about 2 p.m. Friday, approximately 80 crashes had been reported around the state.

At the Burlington International Airport, travelers were left in limbo. If they could have made it out of Vermont, connections a lot of places were going to be hard to come by. David Rich of Tampa, Fla. was trying to head home following his family vacation, but learned he'd be spending an extra day in the snow. “We're excited to get back to Florida,” Rich said. “It's Florida State Fair time, so we're going to go right from snowboarding to the carnival rides.”

Back at the sledding hill, there were no headaches from the powerful winter blast, just lots of smiles, good times, and the knowledge there was more snow to come. “We found out yesterday school was canceled, and I was just so excited,” said Forrest Scharmer, a senior at Burlington High School. “I was surprised to see all the snow that was already down this morning. And we came sledding and it's just amazing.”

Vermonters can expect more opportunities for recreation, after the plowing, shoveling, and other cleanup is complete. The snowfall should be great news for Vermont's ski resorts, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing areas, and the statewide snowmobile trail network.